Real
by Krypton13
Summary: Sorta AU. After 3:16, Un-American Graffiti. Piz reflects on his relationship with Veronica after they kiss at the party. First VMars story. One-shot. Wanted more Piz/V stories out there, so... Not sure of rating, so T. R&R, please and thanks?


_I'm a total LoVe fan, but I also thought Piz and Veronica were pretty dang adorable. So, I gave him a chance. That's... about all. Please review it, that'd be super amazing._

_*K_

_Disclaimer: Hey, I wish I owned Veronica Mars. But, if I did, I wouldn't be posting this._

_**Real **_

All the books, songs, movies, and television shows say that in the end, everything will always turn out right. That if, at the end of a story, something isn't absolutely perfect, it can't really be the end. They all say that if your feelings for someone are true and real and right, then fate will come through and you and your soulmate will end up together forever. Happily ever after. That the pining teenager always gets together with their perfect other half, and that in the very end, everyone is, of course, perfectly happy. Because "a true love story never ends." Perfect.

Piz is beginning to seriously doubt everything the media ever taught him about life and love.

He's had a couple highschool girlfriends back in Beaverton, so it's not like he's completely naive about how that sort of thing works. That sort thing being, you know. Love. But in Beaverton, he had never met anyone quite like Veronica Mars. The girls he dated were pretty, sure. Nice, yep. But when he first met them, did he feel like he had just been struck by lightning? Did he lose his train of thought whenever they were near? When he touched them, did he feel an shock run through his entire body, electrifying every centimeter of his nerve endings? Well, not so much. None of them were quite like Veronica Mars, and it was because of that that he hadn't fallen in super deep like the moment he met them. Like he did with Veronica.

When she had first shown up at the door of his college dorm room, his brain had completely short circuited out. Blown a fuse. And suddenly, he couldn't think anymore. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why the hell this incredibly gorgeous girl was standing there. Until she asked for Wallace, and he found out exactly who Veronica Mars is.

When he was introduced to Logan, Piz was disappointed. He knew he couldn't have Veronica. Not if her standards were this high. And the night of his conversation with her, he gave himself hope, only to have it torn away when he saw Logan and Veronica. Together again. After that he completely gave up and resigned himself to being her friend, because if that's all he could be, he figured it was better than nothing.

So of course after she kissed him in the hall at Parker's birthday party, he was shocked. Surprised. But in a good way. It was what he had been waiting for, so he kissed her back with all he had. He tried to relay all the feelings he had been holding back, tell her everything he's felt for her in these past months, through this one kiss. He thought she finally understood, but when they broke apart, there was Logan, the same as always. Piz tried to understand why she looked at Logan in shock, in horror. Like she felt bad for kissing Piz though she and Logan were broken up, and he was with Parker. He tried. But he didn't get it. And now, sitting alone in his dorm room, he reflects on how the media has let him down.

He does wish real life were as idealized as Hollywood makes it, but he supposes that then it wouldn't be real life. Movies always show the perfect relationships, and he guesses that if you were to zoom out, you would see the people cut out of the frame. The normal, unhappy, heartbroken people. The imperfections of life. Like him.

He's beginning to wonder if he'll ever truly have her. Every time she seems to be in his grasp, she slips away, and is gone. Every time he lets himself have a bit of hope that maybe they will end up together after all, it's taken away from him at the same time as she is. Because of her father's occupation, she's seen all sides of all crimes. Her best friend was murdered when she was only a highschool sophomore. After that, her world completely fell apart. He knows this, and so can see a bit why she has trouble trusting people, and why the only people she does trust, she's known for years, and they've earned it. She's so guarded that she hardly ever lets people see her true self. As a junior PI, she puts on so many different faces, names, and accents, that he's sometimes surprised she hasn't completely lost herself yet. Somehow, she manages to remain herself. But only with her closest friends. The friends who have earned the right to truly know her. He may never reach that level of importance to her. Not if she doesn't let him.

Deep in his deep thoughts, he barely hears the knock on his door. "Piz?" a soft voice calls through the thin dorm wood. At the sound of her voice speaking his name, he raises his head and gets up to let her in.

"Sorry 'bout that, Veronica," he gives her a small half smile, "I was having a... debate, with myself. Come on in. What's up?"

She glances up, studying his face, then looks back to her shoes before walking in and setting herself on Wallace's bed. Piz closes the door softly and walks over to where she sits, easing himself onto the bed next to her and gazing at her gently.

"I... Just wanted to talk to you, I guess," she begins slowly and quietly. "About... Well, you know," she gives a soft laugh. "The other night. With you. And me. And... Us."

An amazed look sneaks onto his face, hope returning to him once again. "Oh. Ya. Right. Uh... What about it?"

She finally meets his gaze, laughing again. "I think you know, Piz," she laughs, smiling.

Their eyes connected, he feels as if he can see her soul. Like maybe, just maybe, he finally knows who she really is. And maybe being famous doesn't mean you don't know what real life is. A smile matching hers begins to creep onto his face, and he tells her, "I think I do."

_Fin_


End file.
